


Family

by randomisjen



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-15
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-08 22:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1959030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomisjen/pseuds/randomisjen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers' POV of the Avengers</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tony

Tony is the heart of the Avengers. Ninety-nine percent of people would say that Steve is, but he knows better.

When S.H.I.E.L.D fell, all of the others received a text message that only said “Tower” and a time. When they arrived, he was uncharacteristically somber.

When he meets Sam for the first time, he says, “We don't know you. Do we like you?” 

Steve and Natasha simply nod at Tony and he replies, “No higher praise.”

He tells them that he is setting up a new division of SI that would “get the band back together” under the UN. They would be answerable only to a rotating council of officials from different countries, while maintaining the autonomy to work.

When asked how he's going to make that work, he says, “It's me and Pepper! Come on!”

He's hired Maria Hill to oversee everything because she knows where most of the bodies are buried.

Tony tells them, “All I need to know is if you're in.”

All of them say “yes.”

Later, Steve pulls Tony to the side to explain that he and Sam have a mission before they can start.

Tony nods and asks what he needs. 

Steve's not sure, so Tony claps him on the shoulder and says, “Don't worry about it. We'll get you a credit card.”

As Tony walks away, he calls Sam over to his desk and pulls up his military records. He sees the EXO-7 and says, “We can work with that.”

Sam tries to explain that it was destroyed at the Triskelion.

Tony merely raises and eyebrow and says, “Bitch, please.”

The next morning, Steve and Sam have Black AMEX credit cards and business cards with their names on them and the titles of 'Independent Contractor” for SI.

Two weeks later, Sam receives a package in Prague with an SI-8 in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first fic in this fandom. Be kind, rewind. Blah, blah, blah.
> 
> I disclaim!


	2. Clint

Clint is a troll. 

When Steve asks Darcy what that was, he spends an afternoon with her and JARVIS explaining it to him. After an hour, Steve saw a pattern. When he asks JARVIS to run an analysis on certain posts, they discover that fifteen percent of all internet trolling originates from the Tower, and five percent of that comes from Clint's personal Starkpad.

“Got to have a hobby,” he tells them.  
Darcy chants, “We're not worthy!” at him.

Yeah, Clint's incorrigible. But, he's also the best long distance shot with any weapon Steve's ever seen. Natasha says that Clint has eyes in the back, and on the sides, of his head. Steve almost believes it.

After Manhattan and Coulson, Clint disappeared for six months. Nat dragged him back to the Tower, kicked his ass in the training room and told him, “Nut up or I will remove them.” (Steve knows this for a fact because Tony sent the video to all of them.)

Outsiders don't know what to make of Clint & Natasha. They are each other's plus one, next of kin, and _person_. Much like Tony  & Pepper, they are two bodies, two brains (lethal in most cases), and an extension of each other.

Steve sees them sometimes, speaking in Russian (or Bartoff as Darcy calls it) and communicating by touch alone. Nat brings a lightness to Clint. Steve likes to think that Clint takes away some of Natasha's red.


	3. Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very belated THANK YOU I LOVE YOU to Rainne for looking over these fics. Most of them are very short because I am still feeling my way through their voices. And because Thor is totally kicking my ass right now.

Sam doesn't even know what his life is.

One day, he is counseling PTSD vets.

The next, he is hiding two of the Avengers in his spare bedroom.

The day after that, he is helping those Avengers to bring down a corrupt international spy organization.

Another day sees him having lunch and dinner with Tony Stark and being _invited_ to _join_ the Avengers on simply the nods of Steve and Natasha.

One more day dawns and he is an employee of SI, making more money in one month than he has ever made in a year. When he tries to tell Tony that it's too much, Tony tells him “Just don't spend it all on hookers and blow... Actually, Cap, please do spend some of yours on it.”

When Tony walks away, Steve just shrugs and says, “They'll pay you that anyway.”

Sam keeps wondering why Tony says “We” instead of “I” and referred to as "they". When he meets Pepper, he gets it. They were two bodies, two brains, and one heart. For all he's heard of Stark, to keep a woman like that, he has to be okay. Plus, he wants to be on their side when they take over the world.

Sam never expected to find another life, another mission, after leaving the Air Force. But thanks to a goofy guy that ran rings around him, he has both.


	4. Natasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thor, and now Bruce, are kicking my ass. Please send help. Most of these chapters are very short. I'm just beginning to dip my toes in the MCU, so maybe others will be longer.
> 
> Again, I disclaim!

Natasha is, quite possibly, the most amazing woman Steve's ever met. 

She is fierce and loyal to those she cares about. Steve was an associate before the fall. During, they are partners. But after, they are friends. Yes, they disagree when their missions diverge, but he knows that she will always have his back. 

She gained his admiration when he launched her into the air to take out the Chitauri fighter sleds and make her way to the top of the Tower. She gained his respect when she closed the portal. She earned his trust as they tore down the house of lies that used and abused them both.

Their friendship is forged in blood and battle and war. It is to her he confesses his darkest secrets, knowing they are safe. Because, once Natasha has decided that you are worth her time, energy, and love, you breathe easier. She is his best friend, unafraid to call him out when he's being an ass or help him stand when everything becomes too much. 

And he wouldn't have it any other way.


	5. Thor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been remiss in thanking everyone who has commented and left kudos. I thank you for the kind words.
> 
> BTW, Bruce is still kicking my ass.
> 
> The book referenced here 'The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths' was first published in 1920.

When Steve was a little boy, he spent most of his time reading. Some of his favorite memories were of reading to his mother as she cooked dinner or mended clothes while he was laid low by one illness or another. Through books, he could travel anywhere so that his limitations were nonexistent. From the Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh to London with Sherlock Holmes, he absorbed the words and pictures. He believed his love of drawing came from some of the richly illustrated books his mother brought home from the library.

During one particularly serious illness, his mother brought home a book titled 'The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths'. It isn't until many years later that finds out the book was closer to fact than fiction.

Thor, as it should be for someone from another realm, is larger than life. His laugh is louder. His distress over his brother is deeper. His love for Jane is purer than any Steve has known. 

There is absolutely no pretense in Thor. He will look you in the eye when he speaks. It is refreshing in this new world of partial truths and outright lies. 

It is also refreshing in that Steve never has to hold back when sparring with Thor. Knowing that they will give each other their best in training, it allows both to become better fighters. But what bonds the men together is that there is someone other than Natasha that can go drink for drink without running the risk of alcohol poisoning. (The less said about what Darcy calls Thor's 'Asgardian homebrewing' skills the better- they aren't letting Tony or Clint anywhere near that stuff.)

Steve owes many debts to Thor, mostly involving the previously mentioned homebrew. For the first time since 1943, Steve got drunk- completely, utterly, falling down drunk. With the lowering of his inhibitions, Steve finally, and fiercely, grieved the loss of everyone he knew. Asking JARVIS to make a recording, he told stories of his life before he crashed the plane. Thor listened. He laughed the antics of shit-stirrers Steve and Bucky. He wiped his eyes when told of the day Bucky died. Thor mourned with him as if he'd been there and known Steve's friends and hugged him when told of the brave Peggy's final days.

But the most important debt that Steve owes Thor, is for bringing Darcy into his life.


	6. Bruce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Bruce stopped being a troll and let me write this. It hit me when I was driving home from the grocery. I don't know if that's better than working Thor's chapter out while walking my dog or not. LOL

Families come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. In this family, the gentlest soul carries the greatest weight.

Dr. Erskine had always insisted the the man taking the serum was just as important as the serum itself- that everything about the person was intensified, the bad just as the good could be. When Steve met Schmidt, he understood why Erskine believed it.

When he first glanced at the file on Bruce, he vaguely wondered what kind of horrors could lie in the doctor's background that could produce _this_ result.

After Manhattan, Steve came back to Bruce's file and read over it very carefully. He knew that SHIELD tended to be comprehensive in their research 'and that's putting it nicely', he thought, and erred on the side of too much is better than not enough. But the sheer amount and scope of the information they had on the doctor was terrifying. Quickly leaving his apartment, Steve headed to a nearby park and called Tony on the Starkphone he had thrown at him. After explaining why he was making the request, Tony agreed to check his SHIELD provided apartment for surveillance. What Tony found convinced Steve to move into Avengers Tower that night. 

Steve never told Bruce that he'd seen the file. With Steve, actions speak louder than words. And Bruce's actions speak volumes.

He uses his job in the labs to try to cure the diseases that he saw on his travels. He drops all his research to help Tony modify Extremis for Pepper and then for Tony himself so he can get rid of the ARC reactor. He studies in his spare time to improve his meager skills in medicine so that he can patch up his teammates. 

The Hulk, as a teammate, is a sight to behold, but Bruce, as a person, is inspirational.

Bruce is the person you seek out when you want company, but need quiet.

Bruce genuinely listens when he asks about your day.

Bruce is the one you trust in Candyland because he knows the dangers and horrors when things go wrong.

Bruce is so much more than the sum of his parts and Steve is thankful that he can call Bruce his friend.


	7. Darcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to the always awesome Rainne for beta reading. Also, she has advised me to add a beverage warning for the beginning of the story. 
> 
> This chapter is much longer than the others, I just have so many Darcy feels.

Steve first meets Darcy when she comes to the tower with Thor and Jane for dinner. He's standing by the bar and she walks over to get a drink.

The first words she ever says to him are, “A hundred bucks says I can shut Stark up for fifteen minutes.”

Steve raises an eyebrow and says, “You're on.”

She keeps her place by him, making small talk, and waits for Tony to get a refill. As soon as he's close enough, she says, “Yeah, my mom went to MIT, but had to drop out because some loser genius with a trust fund got her pregnant. She wouldn't tell me who he is, so...”

Steve gets a vaguely horrified expression on his face and turns just in time to see Tony hit the floor. Hard.

When he wakes up twenty-two minutes later, Tony just points and mumbles.

“Just kidding,” Darcy says. “She's a lawyer in Chicago.”

After Tony regains the power of speech, he looks at Pepper and says, “We like her. Can we keep her?”

Instead of paying off the bet, Steve takes her out to dinner. Pepper hires her to be Managing Director of the Avengers' private labs.

She is unlike any person he's ever met. Her lack of filters keeps him off balance, never knowing what she's going to say, or do, next. But it stops right at the line of too much. If Bruce is the calm, Darcy is the storm that keeps him from being too obsessive, too focused, just too... everything. The serum didn't just affect his body and abilities. It affected how his brain works, how it processes information, emotions, and memories. When everything threatens to swamp Steve and make him feel like he's going back under that damn ice, Darcy is right there, pulling him back by making him slow down and concentrate on something else, _anything_ else. He knows she shouldn't have to be his anchor, shouldn't have to take the shit she puts up from him. During the quiet times, he apologizes and tells her this. Darcy simply cups his cheek and says, “That's what you do when you love someone.” 

Make no mistake, Darcy can go toe to toe with him in the 'screaming ass of the year' contest. She's not a pushover and gives as good as she gets. After their first screaming match, Steve had looked horrified over what he'd said, that Captain America had treated anyone that way, and he says so. Darcy tells him, “I don't give a shit about the Captain, I _do_ give a shit about Steve Rogers. Let the world see you as a perfect son, I want to see you as a person.”

Steve has tells, little signs she's picked up, and she knows when he's winding down and adjusts herself to match him. Eventually, his love for Darcy evens out the storm that rages within him. 

She waits for him while he and Sam are chasing after Bucky, sending him off with a “Come back safely.” When the untraceable email saying, “Stop looking for me, I'll find you.” comes, she sends him to the gym to destroy punching bags. When he comes back with red rimmed eyes, they fuck in the shower and make love on their bed.

Darcy just gets Steve, the good and the bad. She's one of the few people who isn't asking him to be 'the Captain' all the time. She gets that it wears on him, that he is more than just a soldier waiting for the next battle. The only time she calls him 'Cap', never 'Captain', is when he's in the suit, heading out to fight who knows what next. She yells, “Give 'em hell, Cap!” every time he leaves and welcomes him home with a whispered, “Hey, babe.”

She is lightning in a bottle. She's a cooling rain on a hot day. She'd loud and brash and soft and warm. Her eyes light with mischief and shine when she looks at him. He loves to make her laugh and hates himself when he makes her cry. 

He loves the job she's given herself - to make the Tower more lighthearted from the usual shitstorm that is all of their lives. She has prank wars with Tony and Clint, the best of which included her parents and the muttered comment, “Surrounded by fucking trolls.” She debates the differences in Asgardian vs. Midgardian politics with Thor. When he's in the lab, she makes Bruce afternoon tea and tries to stump him on his knowledge of Doctor Who trivia. Even Natasha isn't immune to Darcy. One day, Steve finds them in the kitchen, making up increasingly absurd new covers for Nat and laughing. In thanks, Natasha incorporates 'Lewis' as one of the last names.

Darcy is the light at the end of his tunnel and he can't imagine where he'd be without her.


	8. With a Little Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you burn your world to the ground, who else are you going to call?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a one-off set in my little universe. Takes place during the ending of CA:TWS.

Fury flew the helicopter as low as he dared, searching the riverbank for any signs of life. Sam and Natasha sat in the jump seats behind him with binoculars searching as well.

After several tense minutes, Sam yelled, “Nine o'clock, left side, on the bank!”

Natasha turned her binoculars to confirm the sighting. Looking at Fury, she said, “Confirmed. Call it in and find a place to land. As soon as we do, disappear.”

Fury nodded and made the call.

She scanned the horizon, saw a parking lot, with boat slips on the water and directed Fury to it. As soon as they touched down, Fury melted away, Sam rushed off the chopper to Steve while Natasha pulled out her phone.

It was answered after one ring.

“Damn it, Romanov! Why didn't you call me before you and Cap burned the fucking world down?”

“There wasn't time and all communications were monitored, Stark, but I need you here now. Cap's down and I don't know how bad it is. He's not moving and we need backup.”

“Where are you?”

“Somewhere on the Virginia side of the Potomac, across from where the Triskellion used to be.”

“JARVIS!” Tony yelled, “Find them!”

Natasha heard a minute pause before she heard the AI say, “On screen.”

She could hear him mumbling to himself before Tony said, “I see you. Be there in thirty minutes. Who's that with him?”

“That's Sam, he helped us. He's Air Force para-rescue,” Nat sighed. “Tony, can you have JARVIS scan for Cap's shield? He doesn't have it and I don't see it,” Nat said softly. 

“Make that twenty minutes. JARVIS! Heat up the Mark 46 and map out an algorithm to start a grid by grid search for Vibranium and search all available video sources to narrow the parameters as soon as we get there!”

Natasha heard the droll reply, “Of course, sir.” 

She snorted softly at the AI as she ended the call and walked over to the men as the ambulance arrived.

Fifteen minutes later, the ambulance was leaving with Steve and Sam as the familiar red and gold of Tony's suit flew close to the water in what looked like a drunken stagger. Suddenly, Tony dove into the water and returned a minute later holding the shield. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief.

Tony landed near her and he took his helmet off. “What the actual fuck happened, Nat?”

Natasha told him everything.

When she was done, Tony rubbed a hand across his face and started pacing. “How? How did I miss fucking HYDRA running the show when I hacked the helicarrier?”

Natasha shrugged. “You found the Phase Two plans, then everything went to hell.”

“And Steve? What did they say?”

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest, looking anywhere but at Tony. “Multiple GSW's, multiple knife wounds to his arms and legs, severe facial lacerations, in addition to possible hypothermia due to an unknown amount of time underwater.” 

Tony stopped pacing and said, “Well, he must have been conscious at some point to get himself out of the water, right?”

“I don't know,” she said. “He wasn't conscious from the time we found him until they left. But, there were drag marks and footprints on the bank leading to, and away from, him. I think...,” she trailed off.

“What?”

“I think Barnes may have done it.”

Tony's eyes widened. “The psycho that was trying to kill all of you saved him?”

Natasha sighed. “Steve insisted that he could get through to him. Maybe he did, in the end. But there's more.”

“More than all this?” Tony asked incredulously, waving his arms.

“I know the Soldier. He was one of my instructors in the Red Room.”

Tony's jaw dropped. A few minutes later, he shook his head and said, “Okay, where are we now? Thor's in London, Bruce is in New York, so that leaves Barton. Have you heard from him?”

“Last I heard, he was in northern Africa, but I'm sure that mission has been shot to hell now. It might not have been a legitimate mission to begin with, just something to get him out of the way.”

“Get in touch with him and get him back. You five, Rhodey and Pepper, are the only ones I trust right now. Tell him to beg, borrow, steal or charter a plane. You are still listed as a SI employee, Ms. Rushman, so let's work the problem. Call JARVIS for anything you need. Got that, JARVIS?” Tony said to the helmet.

JARVIS replied, “Yes, sir. I also took the liberty of reauthorizing Ms. Rushman's security clearance. She should have no problems on our end.”

“Where did they take Steve?” Tony asked.

“George Washington,” Natasha answered.

Tony handed her the shield and asked, “Need a lift?”


	9. Til the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> POV shift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... did NOT go where I thought it would. It was supposed to be the last chapter, then a certain character took over. Now it's part 1 of 2 (or more). Damn, assassin.
> 
> This is set 2 years post TWS & pre CA3: Whatever the Hell Name They Subtitle.
> 
> Thanks again to Rainne for hand holding. You are the best.

Slowly, he remembers.

A kid that comes up to his shoulders, messy blond hair, and blue eyes that seem to take up most of his face.

Arms around shoulders as they help each other home after a fight.

Sitting by a bedside as the blond coughs violently and an equally blonde haired woman worries.

Watching as his friend draws on a piece of paper at a table.

Catching up to the young man as he walks slowly up the stairs.

Watching as the man waves good bye sadly.

Trying to talk the man out of something and watching him walk away.

Seeing a man (...the same man? The man from the bridge? He's bigger.) standing over him as he rips bindings from a table he's strapped to.

Walking into a camp, hearing cheers and applause.

Looking down the scope of a rifle, taking the shot, and the man waving at him in thanks.

A red, white, and blue shield flies through the air, knocking people down. (He knows that shield, he saw it... somewhere.)

Memories flowing, too fast to keep up with.

Falling... falling as he and the man scream and they reach for each other.

Pain, waking, sleeping, more pain, and the cold. Sleeping again.

Asset...mission...cold...

Red hair, petite girl, spinning with deadly accuracy as a knife is held in her hand.

Red hair, writhing above him.

Red hair, covering someone... he shoots.

Cold, so very cold.

A table, a man, a gun... the man should be important, but isn't.

A street... a man... (the same man? But how? It's been so long.) 

 

“Bucky?”  
“Who the hell is Bucky?”

 

“Mission report. Mission report now!”  
“But I knew him.”  
“Wipe him.”

 

"You know me...”  
“No, I don't!”  
“I'm not going to fight you...”  
“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes...”  
“SHUT UP!”  
“You're my friend...”  
“You're my MISSION!”  
“Then finish it... because I'm with you til the end of the line...” 

They fall.  
He wakes up. He remembers... everything.

He picks up a phone and makes a call. A female voice answers.  
“I'm ready to come in,” he says.  
“Where are you?” she asks.  
“Toronto.”  
She gives him an address. “I'll be there in five hours.”  
They hang up.

Red hair... he knows her.  
“Natalia?”  
“Yasha.”

They leave. They get on a private airplane.

They exit an elevator.  
The man from the bridge is standing beside a pretty brunette woman. She's holding his hand.

“Steve?”  
The man closes his eyes, sighs, and smiles. “Bucky.”


	10. Of the Line (Bucky)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote & rewrote this chapter more times than I care to think about. I have marked this as the final chapter, but I reserve the right to come back and add ficlets or anything else that tickles my fancy. I almost subtitled this part "Always" because I use that word A LOT here.
> 
> One more massive THANK YOU to Rainne for catching my commas and hand holding.
> 
> To all of the readers who have stuck it out with me til the end, I thank you so very much. All of you are incredible.

Steve has perfect recall of almost everything that has happened in his life. Even before the serum, his brain was one of the few physical problems he didn't have. (Unless you count Bucky wondering if he'd taken one too many hits to the head because, “Damn it, Stevie, that was a stupid thing to do!”)

One of the few things he can't recall with perfect clarity is a time when Bucky wasn't a part of his life. 

Steve remembers sitting on the floor of his apartment rolling a ball to a dark haired boy who was twice as big as he was. He remembers leaving early for school, so he could walk slowly. Bucky was always by his side, never complaining of having to get up so early. Bucky helping him through many of the asthma attacks or any attack that his body decided to revolt against.

Bucky was simply always there, until he enlisted. And, as always, Steve even found a way around that.

But when Bucky fell off the train, it felt like a part of him fell too. It was one of the reasons that he had been at peace during that long ago conversation with Peggy. Because as much as he cared for her, he couldn't imagine a life after the war without his best friend by his side.

So when Steve watches Bucky and Natasha walk off the elevator, a calmness that he's only felt before the serum and with Darcy settles over him. When he hears Bucky say his name, the last pieces of the world he's been rebuilding slot into place.

After Natasha and Darcy walk them to Steve's apartment and leave, the men sit on Steve's couch, hesitantly looking at each other.

“I'm sorry, for all of it,” Bucky says softly.

“I know. All of that, until our last fight, it was what they made you do. I know that you would have never done any of that. We've been able to piece together most of what happened since you...” Steve says, unable to finish. “I'm sorry for that... that I wasn't enough to save you.”

“No, Steve. You couldn't have... there was no way you could have caught me, unless you'd been wearing a parachute. Blame the asshole that fired the gun, Zola or Schmidt or even Phillips for sending us on that mission. But it was never your fault.”

They sit in a familiar silence as each tries to think of ways to convince the other. Finally, they look at each other, smile and say, “Punk” and “Jerk” at the same time. With those two words, they know that everything will be okay.

An hour later, they are still sitting on the couch, now with discarded beer bottles and empty pizza boxes littering the coffee table. The silence between the men is familiar and comforting. Steve had always been able to just sit and be still- a remnant of his time in sick beds and his art. Bucky, however, was usually the first to break the silence and this time was no exception.

“So, was that your girl?”

“Yeah. Her name is Darcy. We met the first day she came to the building,” Steve laughs and tells him the story of the bet and Tony passing out.

“Stark? Howard's...”

“Son, yeah, it threw me off too. He looks so much like Howard, but I wouldn't bring it up to him. They didn't have the best relationship. If you know about the Avengers, you might know him better as Iron Man.”

Steve gives Bucky a brief rundown of his teammates and their significant others, along with their skills, skipping Natasha because Bucky knows her as well as he knows Steve. A little better in some cases.

“But there are other things you need to know about Tony. We really didn't get along when we first met. He's arrogant and has an ego the size of the city, but he's smart enough to back it up. If you thought Howard was smart? Tony's a honest to God genius and a stand up guy. The first day I met him, he'd learned everything he could about thermonuclear astrophysics the night before, saved a helicarrier from falling out of the sky, and flew a nuclear bomb into a hole in the sky to save the world. And when he gets a look at your arm? He'll offer to make you a better one with built in weapons.”

“I'll pass, but anyway... So, back to Darcy,” Bucky says. “What does she do around here?”

“Depends on who you ask,” Steve replies. “If you ask Personnel, she's the Managing Director of the Private Labs. If you ask Tony, she's the pain in the ass he couldn't find anything without and would do just about anything for her. If you ask Bruce, she's his exotic tea supplier. If you ask Jane, she's the best friend and Pop Tart enabler. If you ask her, she's the cat herder and science wrangler of three geniuses who are one Ph.D away from turning into super villains and taking over the world.”

“And if I ask you?”

“She's everything. She's kept me together. She's kicked my ass when I needed it. She's just... everything,” Steve says with a soft smile.

Bucky blinks at the look on his friend's face. In almost thirty years of friendship, he's only seen that look once before.

“Good,” Bucky says with a nod. “But, what's she gonna think about me? Does she know...?”

“It really doesn't matter, but she knows it all- good, bad, and ugly. When Nat told us where she was going, and why, Darcy went on a cleaning binge, cleared out one of the spare bedrooms, had JARVIS study footage of you so they could guess your size, and ordered clothes for you, just in case you didn't have anything. She also said something about baking you the largest cake she could for all the times you had to save my 'stupid ass because my smart mouth wrote checks my body couldn't cash' back in the day,” Steve says with a laugh.

Bucky snorted. “Sounds like a stand up dame to me.”

“Oh, you have no idea. I give it two months, if that long, and the two of you will be thick as thieves.”

“I'm glad she makes you happy,” Bucky says.

Steve turns his head and looks Bucky in the eyes. “I'm happier now.”

“But, what about the others? What are they gonna think? I still get lost sometimes,” Bucky admits.

“That's one thing you'll learn living here. None of us will claim to be completely sane. Well, Pepper might be the closest as we get, but then she's dating Tony. 'We're all a little mad here',” Steve says with a pained smile on his face. “But Sam has some experience working with people like us, and what he can't help you with, we'll find someone who can.”

“Thanks.”

“Buck, we always said 'til the end of the line' and that line is a long way down the road. We've got seventy years to catch up on,” Steve says throwing an arm around his shoulder.

“Well then, get your girl in here and let's get started.”


	11. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Occasionally, Steve Rogers sincerely regrets that he ever introduced Darcy and Bucky to one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so how I said that this story was finished? HAHAHAHAHA NOPE. So, I am going to leave this as incomplete for now.
> 
> There is one part I am a bit leery of having written, but I am dealing with Tony Stark and HE DOES WHAT HE WANTS.
> 
> This is unbeta'd because if I don't post this now, I will just keep nit picking it.

Occasionally, Steve Rogers sincerely regrets that he ever introduced Darcy and Bucky to one another. 

Within two weeks of meeting, Darcy has reduced Bucky to shaking laughter and outright guffaws. She fills Bucky in on 'stupid shit Steve's done' and general 'Steve stuff', as she calls them, and they roll their eyes at the same time. 

When she tries to tell him of the first time they'd watched Titanic together, Bucky says, “I haven't seen that.”

Darcy's mouth drops open in horror. “Well, clear your schedule, dude, because I cannot do justice to this one without you seeing most of it first.”

After they get to that part of the movie, Darcy stops the disc and says, “When I told him to 'paint me like one of his French girls', he jumped so high he spilled beer all over his pants and looked like he'd peed himself.”

Steve sits red faced while Bucky laughs so hard Steve seriously considers slapping him on the back to get some oxygen to his lungs.

This story leads to more 'let's see who can tell the most embarrassing Steve' stories. They tell him later that they declared Bucky the winner due to how long he'd known Steve.

When he tries to get them to go back to the movie, Darcy says, “The boat sinks. People die. The end.” 

Steve just leaves the room and hides in Tony's lab. When Tony kicks him out, he goes to the gym and mixes up Clint's practice arrows. He's not touching anything of Natasha's- that way lies madness and pain.

The next morning at breakfast, Steve asks Bucky how she managed to get him to open up the way he has. Bucky replies, “She reminds me of my sister Becky, but with a dirtier mouth.”

When Clint storms in, ranting about 'bringing the pain' to whomever dared to touch his stuff, Bucky narrows his eyes at Steve's innocent face.

Everyone in the tower has rallied around Bucky. Darcy keeps him lighthearted. Sam is there to talk him through the nightmares that plague him. Natasha helps him work through the memories of his lost time, and brings him up to date on what he's missed. Thor and Clint challenge him to keep him skills sharp in training. Bruce teaches him yoga and calming techniques.

Tony was a different story in the beginning. Until they had proof that the Winter Soldier did not work in the United States between 1980 and 1998, Tony was standoffish. Neither Bucky or Steve could blame him for that- the possibility that Bucky had been involved with his parent's death. But once Natasha brought back files regarding the Soldier dating back forty years, and a complete dossier of his missions during that time, Tony welcomed Bucky to the Tower. As predicted by Steve, Tony itches to get his hands on Bucky's metal arm and builds him several new ones (each powered by a miniature ARC reactor, with interchangeable hands, AND one with built in repulsor tech) just in case he changes his mind. 

And Steve? He's there for everything else.

Bucky has so far declined to officially join the Avengers. He only joins them when a very real threat to the world at large appears or a confirmed sighting of the straggling remains of HYDRA stick their heads out of their bolt holes. They know that they will never get them all- that someone somewhere will try to pick up the mantle and espouse Schmidt and Pierce's perverted ideals. But people in that sphere of the world have learned that unless you want the full wrath of the Avengers crashing on your head, you pass along any information on HYDRA you find. 

Of course, the government learns about Bucky. He is subpoenaed to appear before a Senate committee. 

Pepper starts a carefully orchestrated PR campaign, including interviews with People, Time, and The New York Times, and Oprah Winfrey gets the exclusive television interview featuring unprecedented access to all the Avengers. Oprah gets so much footage, the interview becomes a series of specials, spread over five nights and two hours each. The ratings go through the roof.

But still, public opinion is divided until the hearing,

No one knows what the committee expects when Bucky appears. But what they get is the almost full roster of Avengers (minus Bruce, he simply could not deal with that level of bullshit and Tony really does NOT want to have to rebuild Capitol Hill), dressed for battle, and a legal dream team masterminded by Tony Stark and headed by none other than Hillary Clinton. She opens with a statement on his seventy years as a Prisoner of War, remarking that one of the Senators on the committee had been held as well, and submitting documentation from six of the most preeminent doctors of psychology and psychiatry (from both political parties) in the United States stating for the record that Sergeant Barnes was not acting under his own free will and should not be held accountable for his actions. 

The hearing ends abruptly when Captain America (and it is the Captain, not Steve Rogers) tells the committee they should be ashamed of themselves for trying to make political hay from a decorated war hero who served faithfully until he was lost during a classified mission that was a major turning point in the war and was presumed dead. 

Tony cackles after the hearing about seeing grown men in tears after being dressed down by Cap in full 'I am so disappointed in you' mode. Tony's been on the other side of that look once or twice. He knows just how small it can make you feel. The Senators were not the only ones affected by Cap's speech. Overnight, public opinion swings 75-25 in support of Bucky and there are petitions for giving him a Congressional Medal of Honor. 

When they get back to the Tower, Darcy has cooked all of Bucky's favorite foods. Bucky has been mostly silent through the meal, only speaking when spoken to. After they've eaten, Darcy takes him off to a quiet corner while the rest of the group celebrate.

“You okay there, Bucky?”

“Yeah. It's just... it was me and Steve against the world for so long. Then, it was us and the Commandos. Then, nothing, or nothing good. Now, it's everyone, all of you lining up to stand with us... me. I didn't expect all this. Stevie's not sick, and we have friends who'll go to the wall for us, and he's got you and I've never seen him him so damn happy. It almost makes all the shit worth it, to know what's on the other side... and I just...,” Bucky's breath hitches.

“Oh, honey,” Darcy says pulling him into a tight embrace that Bucky returns gratefully. “This is what we do. We kick ass, don't bother to take names, and eat Tony out of house and home.”

Bucky snorts as he pulls back.

“Oh, you doofus, we're family.”


End file.
